This book has a good balance of foundational information and practical applications of Powershell 2.0. If there was a version of this for Powershell 1.0 I wish I had known about it. :-) The author assumes that you have some background in scripting so it doesn't come across as a pure beginner's book. The book provides practical examples for Powershell in the Windows environment and some background information on each subject. It has an appropriate balance between detail and maintaining a "big picture" view of teaching you about how to use Powershell.
The only request I make of the author in a future edition is to provide a little more coverage on loading assemblies through the Reflection.Assembly class. This is a minor issue though because he does discuss when to use it and of course one can always consult the online Microsoft documentation for additional methods.
Some of the big pluses in the book include a "real world" view and I particularly liked the quick overview of SQL Server support and how to add the supporting snapins to the basic Powershell environment - that saved me a lot of time!
Overall, one of the better books out there on the subject for those interested in a hands-on approach. Windows PowerShell(TM) 2.0 Administrator's Pocket Consultant
I assumed the book would focus on a bunch on PS One-Liners for basic administration tasks. Stanek proved me wrong, he jumped into key points that I assumed would have been left out because of the nature of the book e.g. "quick and dirty guide to just get it done". He proved me wrong. He touched on the skills required to actually write PS scripts, manage profiles and moved beyond just the quick PS One-Liners that you find in other books.
Another job well done by Stanek. I own every pocket consultant he has ever written. I even own second editions and almost own all of his non pocket consultant titles.
His books are a must have for any seasoned Windows IT administrator. Owning one of his books separates the men from the boys.
William Stanek never ceases to amaze me with how much great info he can pack into his pocket consultants. There's not one that's not worth it's weight in gold and I mean that. His are the only books I've ever read front to back and then gone back in for a second or third read with highlighter in hand. Everyone in IT I work with has at least one of his books if not several and sometimes several copies of the ones they have.
I bought three copies of this and three copies of Active Directory® Administrator's Pocket Consultant (Administrators Pocket Consultant). I kept one of each and gave out the rest in my last staff meeting. There are no other books I will buy for my team, because no other books are as good. I am also grown up enough to admit knowledge I got from his books over the years are what earned me multiple promotions.
What makes this book so good is its relentless focus on what matters and the deep level of technical information William shares. William knows Windows and Microsoft products better than any 10 other tech experts on the planet put together.
No other Group Policy book I've ever read has been as good and what's even better is William does this in less than 320 pages. The 600+ page book I had before this didn't explain half of this even half as well. I'll finish by also saying this book should be used with William's Windows Server 2008 Inside Out.
This Book has it all right at your finger tips! Microsoft has done a superior job in expounding and down to the depths in PowerShell 2.0 with details, details, details - with How to's including images. Including the important information(s) of the possibilities "if you do this, then you might experience that" - with cautions, warnings, et cetera.
I MUST STRESS THIS EMPHASIS - Please take your time in reading this book! Do not rush through this, having a highlighter, colored pencil, write in it, make notes even though it comes with notes - read it all over again. While it does discuss both PowerShell v1.0 and v2.0; you will learn about both as well as the differing betwixt the two which can be very important to know in various areas. Especially for Businesses and Corporations that are working with both 64 bit and x86 aka 32 bit platforms.
I strongly recommend this book - this one is not going to be the one to be "thrown away or tossed aside" for one will want to return back to it for it is loaded with answers if one were to ever "run into a jam", in my humble opinion.
Out of all the Windows 2008 books I have, this one stands out as the best. William Stanek is a great writer, and has put together a stellar book that should be required reading for every System Administrator!
As a newbie to this subject I found this book very worthwhile to have and use while scripting. Organization is good although could be improved in a few places, particularly given how powershell is alot like C#.
This book is a little like the circle line tourist boats that navigate around the island of Manhattan. You get a big picture but not much else.
This book is primarily for command-line hackers only. It may get you jump-started into the subject of PowerShell but after that you will require a long slow charge to get up to speed. Most of the subjects are given brief discussions only and most of the code examples are simply snippets.
When I purchased this book, I was searching for a start to scripting in PowerShell. This book touches on scripts but
it is aimed primarily at sysadmins (as the cover states). If you are a developer, look elsewhere. The best tome I've discovered is Windows PowerShell 2.0. by Don Jones. It's a lot more expensive but how much is your development time worth?
I have 2 of this book because my first one was borrowed by a friend and didn't return it! Told him he can keep it and just got another one. It's a good reference for beginner and quick reference guide for advanced administration. - William Stanek - Windows 7 - Scripting - Administration'
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